Chapter 12 - The Woman Behind the Door
The next morning, Claire received a message.
No number.
No name.
Only coordinates.
She showed Graves.
He immediately recognized the location.
An abandoned military hospital.
Ryan insisted on going.
Patricia tried to stop them.
“You cannot go there.”
Claire looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because that's where Nora was last seen.”
Claire's heart pounded.
“Then I'm going.”
They arrived before sunset.
The hospital had been abandoned for decades.
Windows were broken.
Hallways were dark.
Old medical equipment remained in empty rooms.
Graves led them through the building.
At the end of the third corridor was a steel door.
The same symbol was engraved into it.
Claire touched it.
The lock opened.
Inside was a small room.
A chair.
A table.
A tape recorder.
And a mirror.
Claire stepped inside.
The recorder turned on.
Nora's voice filled the room.
“You finally came.”
Claire froze.
“Nora?”
“I knew you would.”
Claire looked around.
“Where are you?”
“Behind you.”
Claire turned.
The mirror reflected the room.
But something was wrong.
The reflection showed another woman standing behind Claire.
Claire spun around.
Nobody was there.
She looked back at the mirror.
The woman remained.
Older.
Blonde.
Green eyes.
Claire whispered:
“Nora.”
The woman in the mirror raised her hand.
She touched the glass.
Claire raised hers.
Their palms aligned.
The recorder clicked.
Nora spoke again.
“I couldn't come to you.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was watching.”
“Who?”
Nora's expression in the mirror changed.
“Your father.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then how?”
Nora looked frightened.
“He isn't the man you think.”
The mirror suddenly went black.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Graves drew his weapon.
Ryan moved beside Claire.
Footsteps approached.
A man's voice called:
“Claire.”
She recognized it.
Richard.
Her father.
But Richard was supposed to be back at the estate.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
The handle moved.
Claire looked at Graves.
“That's impossible.”
The door opened.
Richard stood there.
Claire stared.
“Dad?”
He looked at her.
Then at the mirror.
May you like
And whispered:
“Nora.”
